On February 4, 2026, Kito Crosby Limited, a KKR portfolio company and a global leader in lifting solutions, closed its sale to Columbus McKinnon Corporation, a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of intelligent motion solutions for material handling. The deal was approved after a Second Request issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and an agreement to divest certain assets. The $2.7 billion transaction creates a scaled, holistic provider of intelligent motion solutions in materials handling.
An Econic Partners team led by Founding Partner Jon Orszag, and Partner Dr. Jason Wu was retained by KKR, Kito Crosby, and their outside counsel to advise on antitrust issues in material handling markets. The team helped to evaluate the competitive effects of the transaction and supported Kito Crosby in its response to the DOJ’s Second Request.
The Econic team included Dr. Daniel Gaynor, Jonnie Tompkins, Lina Hong, Natsumi Osborn, Andrew Goldblatt, Francisca Saldivar Palacios, and Jamie Ha. The Econic team worked closely with KKR and Kito Crosby’s outside counsel Ian John, Stephen Mohr, and Ben Feis of Kirkland & Ellis, and Peter Guryan, Richard Jamgochian, and Matthew Evola of Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett.
